The Mets released right-handers Adrian Houser and Ty Adcock Wednesday afternoon. Will Sammon of the Athletic (on X) originally reported Houser’s dismissal, while MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweeted the Adcock news.
New York had designated both pitchers for assignment. Last Friday, Houser lost his roster spot. New York held him in DFA limbo in an apparent attempt to find a trade partner before yesterday’s deadline. That certainly did not happen, so they had no choice except to place him on waivers. Houser has more than five years of service time and would have kept his full salary if he had declined a Triple-A assignment. As a result, the Mets decided to issue a release.
Houser arrived in Queens in an offseason deal with Milwaukee that also included outfielder Tyrone Taylor. David Stearns, the Brewers’ first-year baseball operations president, was familiar with both players from his time there. Taylor has been a fine fourth outfielder, but Houser has struggled. He pitched his way out of the rotation, giving nearly a run per inning across seven starts.
The 31-year-old has performed better in lengthier relief stints. Houser has a 3.28 ERA in 35 2/3 innings out of the bullpen across 16 appearances. He hasn’t missed any bats in either role (12.5% strikeout rate as a starter, 16.8% in relief), but he has a strong 53.2% ground-ball rate out of the bullpen.
That was insufficient to entice another team to make a trade with the Mets. It’s unlikely to persuade a club to remove the estimated $1.63MM remaining on Houser’s $5MM+ contract from release waivers. Once he enters free agency, another team might sign him for a prorated portion of the $740K minimum. Houser should receive minor league offers and may find a club willing to add him immediately to the MLB roster — most likely in a relief role — for the stretch run. He will become a free agent again at the start of the offseason.
Yesterday, New York designated Adcock for assignment in conjunction with the Tyler Zuber deal. The Mets had claimed the Elon product from the Tigers in May. Adcock made three appearances and allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings.
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